Kaylan agreed. Her wedding was only weeks away, but with the danger surrounding them, she was more concerned with living that long than she was about the final details. She silently prayed for protection for her, for Nick, for their loved ones, and for justice to be served and the threats to end.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Anya’s plane touched down at Jean Lesage International Airport in Quebec City. She deplaned, clutching her shoulder bag like a lifeline. One more stop. She scrolled through the list of flights displayed on the screen and grunted in disgust. Two. Two more stops. A flight to Cancun departed at 3:30 p.m. She checked the time glowing on the digital screens. She had an hour. From Cancun she would head to St. Lucia, where a beautiful beach condo awaited her.
“Elsa Eriksson, you have a message at Information,” a voice over the intercom relayed in three different languages. The bustle of the airport continued around her, but Anya couldn’t move. Someone knew she was here. Was it a trap?
No.
The only one who knew that alias after all this time was Gregor. Maybe he forgot to tell her something. She didn’t have a phone, after all, wouldn’t even dream of it with the CIA on her tail. She forced one foot in front of the other, noting exit routes as she went. If she needed to find a place to lie low until she could get to the Caribbean, then so be it.
She brushed her hair out of her face, wishing for a tube of hair dye to cover the gray, and tugged the scarf back over her head. She stepped up to the Information counter, recalling her French. “You have a message for Elsa Eriksson.”
“Oui. Can I see identification?”
Anya breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t yet switched passports. The woman checked her photo and name and then handed her a sealed envelope. “Someone dropped it off for you.”
“Probably my friend who flew out before me. Merci.”
She checked her steps as she slipped inside the nearest restroom and cocooned herself in a stall. The roar of the hand dryer vied with the rush of people trying to make their flights in the concourse just outside. Anya ripped into the envelope.
My dear Elsa,
Information reached me after your departure that may be of some interest to you. Sasha’s men have identified your son and daughter. Orders to kill them have been issued since no one has heard from Sasha in twenty-four hours. I know you have not had contact with them since their birth, but I felt you should know the information.
Yours, Gregor
Anya crumpled the note and stuffed it in her bag. Of course it didn’t matter. She’d been no kind of mother. They’d chosen to go after Sasha; they must now deal with the consequences.
She swung open the metal stall door, stalked from the restroom, and made her way to the ticket counter. It didn’t matter. She would board a plane for Mexico and put this life behind her. She’d done what she set out to do all those years ago. She’d been patient, earning the trust of the man who killed her brother, all while benefiting from the contacts and money she made under his business. She’d earned their loyalty, earned his. And now, she had orchestrated enough to see him dead. Or at least she assumed.
Nickolai and Natalia would have to learn what she had—the weak do not survive. Only those who look out for themselves. She stopped behind two people in line at the ticket counter. The flight list shifted every few seconds on the board above the luggage belt.
A flight to British Columbia departed in forty-five minutes. She could do it. Be a mother. She could fly west to British Columbia and then south to San Diego. Redeem a life of greed and running and plotting revenge. Or she could live out the rest of her days in peace and freedom. It was what she deserved after all this time.
“Next.”
Nothing stood between her and her condo. She stepped up to the ticket counter. “Yes?”
She couldn’t find her voice. She glanced at the flight list again. Cancun or British Columbia? She could use the alias, either way. If she flew to California, she would never be able to use her alias again, and her carefully laid plans for escape would be for naught. And they would be waiting for her, ready to take her back into custody. She wouldn’t be able to save her children. She wouldn’t be able to save herself.
With a last look at the digital screen, she pulled her new passport from her bag and slapped it on the counter. “One ticket, please,” she said in her best French.
Anya would do what she’d always done. She would choose her freedom.
She just hoped she wouldn’t regret it.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Okay, okay, my turn.” Natalie jumped from the couch and stuck her hand in the bowl. She opened a folded piece of paper. “Shoot. I’m going to have to think about this one for a second.”
“You have thirty seconds.” Megan turned over a plastic minute glass on the coffee table.
“I’ll check on the cookies.” Kaylan tossed a pillow at Megan as she stood from the couch.
“Make sure they are good and gooey!” Megan called after her.
It was ten on a Friday night, and they were two games into charades, one bag of popcorn down, and on their second batch of chocolate chip cookies. Kaylan deemed the night a success. She fired up her phone and scanned through her emails. Nothing from the guys. She wondered when they would be home, wondered more if she needed to postpone the wedding if Nick didn’t make it back by the week before.
“Time is up,” Megan shouted.
“How can you tell? That thing is supposed to give you a minute,” Natalie argued.
“I eyeballed it. It looked about half full on the bottom and half full on the top. So now you have to go or forfeit your turn.”
“Fine.”
Megan waited until the last grain slipped through the narrow passageway. Kaylan sank into the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “Okay, on your mark, get set—”
“Knock, knock. Got room for two more?” The door hinges groaned as Nick and Micah stepped through the door.
Kaylan jumped off the couch and into Nick’s arms. Sandy danced around their legs, barking. “You’re home! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“We wanted to fly under the radar. Everything quiet? Anything I need to know about?” He glanced around the room and his gaze collided with Natalie. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Natalie’s quiet response had Kaylan scrambling to fill the silence. “It’s quiet. Our friend is around and watching the house. You can relax. Unless there’s something I need to know?”
Nick only raised a brow and squeezed her hand, his shoulders still tense.
Micah bumped Nick aside. “If I don’t get a hug in the next five seconds, I am boycotting this wedding. I’m your older brother. I still rank.”
“Yes, you do.” Kaylan wrapped her arms around Micah’s chest.
“Ow.” He pulled back a bit. “Just maybe be more gentle about it.”
Kaylan felt the crackle of a bandage beneath his shirt as her hand fell from his back. “What happened?”
“Oh, you know. Got in a fight with a ninja. He got in a good slice, but I crushed him. Ladies dig scars, right?”
Kaylan fought back frustration, knowing she would probably never get the straight story. “At least a ninja is slightly more believable than the shark story you told me last year.”
“Dang, I’ll have to get more creative again next time.”
“Seriously, Micah.”
“Seriously, Kayles.” He lowered his voice. “I was just doing my job. But if you really want to take care of me, you can help me take my boots off and bring me a few cookies.” He sniffed the air. “Those smell delicious.” His grin appeared, his humor firmly in place.
“No to your boots. Yes to your cookies. Have you met Natalie?” She pointed to the blonde still standing in the middle of the room taking everything in. “Natalie, this is my brother, Micah.”
“Nice to meet you.” She extended her hand. “I’m his sister, I guess?” she pointed at Nick.
“Oh, now all the pieces are falling into plac
e. Welcome to our merry band of misfits. The Air Force thing might be a problem, but we won’t tell anybody,” Micah whispered.
“I see my reputation precedes me.”
Nick shook free from his shock. He approached and put his arm around her shoulders, patting her awkwardly for a second. “Good to see you.”
She wrinkled her nose and grinned. “We’ll have to work on that hugging thing.”
His baritone chuckle warmed Kaylan to her toes. He was home. He was safe.
“So did you take care of business?” She plopped down on the couch across from Nick, her eyes taking in every inch of him, making sure he was intact.
He nodded slowly. “We did. We’re done.” His eyes drifted to Micah for the slightest moment.
“So no more Russians stalking us at coffee shops or grocery stores?” Megan chimed in.
Nick narrowed his gaze at Kaylan. “That counts as something I need to know. He’s still doing that? When did you see him?”
Kaylan glared at her roommate, not wanting to focus on that right now. “Caden took care of it. There are still guys around here somewhere. Vlad may be gone by now. None of us have seen him in a few days.”
“We are done with him now, right?” Megan prompted again. This time Nick and Micah didn’t answer.
Micah cleared his throat. “So what are we playing?”
“Charades. Now we can do guys versus girls,” Natalie answered.
“Um, I think we may need to divide into different teams,” Nick said, casting a wary eye on the bowl filled with torn pieces of paper.
“C’mon, Hawk. We can totally take them. We’ve got this.”
“I mean if you are too chicken to play against us, I understand. We can divide the groups,” Kaylan teased.
“Or how about we add two more?” The screen door slammed as Vlad and a bearded man stepped into the room. True to character, Vlad appeared ready to attend a high-level business meeting in his designer suit and tie. The man next to him stood in head-to-toe black, a gun with a silencer at the ready in his hand.
Micah and Nick bounced to their feet, and Sandy charged, hackles raised and vicious barking echoing through the house. In one quick move, the man next to Vlad aimed and fired, the silencer muffling the sound.
Kaylan screamed as Sandy fell and whimpered. Nick and Micah started forward, but Vlad held out a hand. “Slow movements, gentlemen. My colleague is highly trained but not in the mood to be killed tonight. You will be on the floor next to the dog if you take another step.”
Nick held up his hands, moving in front of Kaylan and the girls. “Let’s go outside. Leave the girls alone.”
Vlad shook his head. “I am sorry, but I cannot do that. I warned you if you continued to pursue my employer, I would be forced to act.” He held out his hands. “Alas, I am acting, which means I assume Sasha is dead.”
Micah and Nick only stared. Kaylan saw controlled rage in their expression. She fought to stay still, her focus trained on the scene in front of her. If she could just get to her bedroom and the gun, but she wouldn’t make it two steps without being stopped by Vlad’s colleague holding a much bigger gun. Or maybe Caden’s men would come? She looked to the door, her heart sinking. If they were able, they would be here already. Vlad must have taken care of them before coming inside.
“Why are you here?” Micah spat, his body now blocking the view of the living room, where Natalie crouched on the floor and Megan and Kaylan huddled on the couch. Kaylan could barely breathe. She fought for calm and clarity, her instincts tuned to any movement the guys made.
“We know that Janus helped you kill Sasha. It recently came to our attention that she had two children that she gave up as infants. It seems she kept tabs on both of you”—Vlad’s eyes roamed to Natalie—“your whole lives. Since we can’t find her, we can make sure she gets the message that her treachery will not go unpunished.”
Kaylan bristled at the way Vlad looked at Natalie. “Nick and Natalie have nothing to do with her. She is related in blood only. Natalie has never even met her.”
Vlad’s attention fixed on Kaylan, which she preferred. Anything to get Natalie and Megan out of this mess. Neither of them had asked for any of it. Kaylan had accepted it when she said yes to a SEAL with a complicated past.
Vlad smiled. “That may be true, Miss Richards, but her attentiveness to them over the years, though calculated and distant, suggests that cold-hearted traitor cared on some level. I am sorry, but you are just another means to an end. Since we cannot just take two of you, we must take all of you. If you please …” He indicated the door.
“Leave the girls. Take us.” Micah stepped forward. The man with the gun tensed but remained stationary.
Vlad looked Micah up and down. “Like I said, Natalie and even Kaylan are now non-negotiable. You on the other hand . . .”
“Why, you . . .” Micah jerked to a stop as the man in black leveled the barrel of his gun at Kaylan’s forehead.
“Careful, Mr. Richards.”
With one swift move, Vlad nailed Micah on the head with the butt of his gun. The crack echoed in the room, and Kaylan screamed in outrage as Micah slumped to the ground.
“Don’t move, Miss Richards, or I’ll make it a bullet to the head instead of just a bump,” Vlad reiterated as tears began to trek down her face. Micah wasn’t moving, and she couldn’t tell if he was breathing. Everything in her screamed to run to her brother. She caught the slight shake of Nick’s head out of the corner of her eye and forced herself to stay put.
Chills swept over Kaylan’s body as she stared at the cold metal aimed at her face. She felt Nick’s fingers thread through hers and squeeze from where he stood by the couch’s armrest.
“Let’s start over, shall we?” Vlad grimaced. The gun lowered and Kaylan sucked in a breath, immediately aware of her galloping pulse. “You will drop your cell phones on the table and come with us. You will not scream or yell or make a noise to arouse any suspicion from your neighbors, including”—he narrowed his already squinty eyes at Kaylan again—“that nosy woman next door. Does everyone understand? And you”—he motioned to Nick— “will disarm and tie your friend in case he wakes up. We can’t have him alerting anyone that you are missing for quite a while. By the time he can, we will be long gone.”
Nick stiffened even more. Kaylan waited, and finally Nick slowly removed his phone and tossed it on the end table next to the couch. “Now if you please, my associate will ensure that we do not get ourselves into a complicated situation with any hidden weapons before we enter the vehicle.”
The man with the gun holstered the weapon and began patting Nick down as Vlad drew his own weapon and pointed it at Micah’s forehead as he lay still on the floor. Then he moved to Micah, removing a knife and cell phone from his pocket before throwing them to the corner of the room.
Vlad tossed zip ties to Nick. “Bind your friend’s hands and feet. Tightly.” With a slow step Nick knelt in front of Micah and did as he was asked. “That’s right,” Vlad continued. “Now stand slowly, and no one will get hurt.” His tone held a warning that couldn’t be ignored.
Kaylan fought panic, praying Nick wouldn’t do something rash. Nick’s expression was chiseled in stone. Kaylan knew his mind was on overdrive, thinking through scenarios and solutions. She also knew he would sacrifice himself before he let anything happen to one of the girls. A sinking feeling flowed through Kaylan. He might die tonight.
“Ladies, if you please.” Vlad motioned that they should stand and discard their phones. Without a word, they followed his instruction.
Vlad aimed his weapon at Megan and Kaylan. “Now it’s your turn.” He nodded the girls over to the man in black.
Megan immediately bristled. “I don’t think so. There’s no way I’m letting him run his hands all over me.”
Vlad turned cold eyes to Megan, and Kaylan found herself wishing Megan didn’t have such a big mouth. “And how do I know you aren’t carrying a knife in your pocket?”
Meg
an crossed her arms, but Kaylan saw a slight tremble in her fists. “I guess you will have to take my word for it, but he is not touching me.” Kaylan remembered the men in the boatshed and the bruises she and Megan had both sustained. A sick feeling pulsed through her. Her roommate didn’t think they would make it out of this either, and she planned to go down with a fight and her dignity intact.
Vlad stood toe-to-toe with Megan. Natalie flinched in Kaylan’s periphery, but she didn’t dare move. Her legs trembled, and she prepared to pounce if necessary. Vlad’s hand shot out and pinched Megan’s cheeks, her lips puckering under his grip. “Your word, my dear”—his voice was deadly calm—“means nothing at all.” He nodded at the man in black, his grip never lessening on Megan’s face as the man checked for concealed objects.
“Let her go. She didn’t do anything,” Natalie said.
“Ah, Natalia. I wondered if you had the same fire as your mother and brother.” Vlad tossed Megan’s head back as he released her. Red fingerprints marked his presence. Megan licked her now trembling lips.
“My name is Natalie. And I don’t know about any mother, but if I have the same fire as my brother, I think I’m in good company. Leave Megan out of this. She’s got nothing to do with it.”
Kaylan had to smother a smile, despite the severity of the situation. A flicker of hope hovered in the air. She was surrounded by fighters. They might make it out of this yet.
Vlad turned his focus back to Megan. He cocked his head to the side like he was examining livestock instead of Kaylan’s friend. “Natalia has a good point. On second thought, my dear, we don’t need you to come.” Before any of them could move, he raised his hand, the butt of a pistol flashing, and brought it down on Megan’s head. She slumped to the floor next to Sandy, her face pasty and her body too still.
“Megan!” Natalie and Kaylan shouted. They both moved toward their friend, but Vlad leveled them with a look.
Surrendered (Heart of a Warrior Series Book 3) Page 22